Barcelona cruised to an easy 4-0 victory over Granada in their La Liga clash on Saturday evening.
Antoine Griezmann netted the opener for Barca in the 12th minute.
Lionel Messi then scored two quick-fire goals, giving the Catalan giants a 3-0 lead going into half-time.
Mateo clearly enjoyed that and understandably so.
Messi was denied the chance of a hat-trick as Ronald Koeman decided to sub him off and give him a rest in the 64th minute.
The Dutch manager then raved about the Argentine in his post-match interview.
“Barcelona need Leo,” Koeman stated, per Marca. “Because of his important and effectiveness. We need him to fight for titles.
Lionel Messi
“Thanks to the lead we were able to take him off. Messi tries his best for the team and lately he has been doing very well, very effective.
“Like the rest of the team, the start of the season was poor, but he has always been motivated. Now he is scoring more, but he has always been involved.”
Barcelona are now third in La Liga, four points behind Atletico Madrid.
Diego Simeone’s side have three games in hand, though, meaning Barcelona will have to keep winning to have any chance of catching them.
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